PhD in Psychology, Concentration in Soulscience
by willowscribe
Summary: An examination of life within the universe of Suits, with the added bonus of soulmates being a real thing.


**This work is cross-posted on AO3.**

_PhD in Psychology, Concentration in Soulscience_

When Donna is in first grade, she bumps into Robbie Davis on the playground and feels an electric shock through her entire body. She doesn't know it yet, but she's just met her soulmate. Robbie's friends shout something about cooties from where they're playing kickball, and Robbie turns bright red, sprinting off before Donna can yell at him for hitting her. The next year Robbie moves away, and Donna never sees him again. It isn't until years later that she understands the gravity of what happened on the playground in first grade.

[-]

Rachel's affair with Logan starts after she feels the soulshock. Logan convinces her that she's his soulmate, that the shock was a sign that they're meant to be together. Rachel reluctantly agrees to the affair, making Logan promise that he'll divorce his wife as soon as possible so they can be together. The months drag on, but it isn't until Rachel finds the silver ring Logan was wearing the day she felt the shock that she truly understands what happened. As she touches the ring lying on the bedside table while Logan sleeps, she feels the jolt of electricity and realizes that Logan has played her for the fool. She pockets the electric ring and resolves to never trust the soulshock as an indicator of a true soulmatch ever again.

[-]

Jessica and Quentin are soulmates, but sometimes that's not enough. They're both more committed to their work than they are to each other, and even though their relationship is predisposed to work out, they find themselves pulling apart. Jessica loves Quentin deeply, but the less time they spend together, the more their bond weakens until they might as well have never had a soulmatch. Their divorce is relatively amicable, though it's complicated by the fact that they were a registered soulmatch. When Jessica meets Lisa during Quentin's case, she sees the way they interact and realizes that as her bond faded with Quentin, Quentin's potential bond with Lisa grew stronger until they were a full soulmatch. She can't begrudge Quentin his girlfriend, especially as he fights his ALS, but it still hurts, just a little, to see what she and Quentin could have been.

[-]

Louis Litt has never had a soulmate, and sometimes he just wants to crumble with how impossibly lonely he feels. As soon as he was legally old enough, he began going to massive gatherings where unmatched people walk around and touch fingertips in the hopes of finding their soulmate. He's been a regular at the annual Central Park Soulmatch Extravaganza ever since he moved to the city after graduation from Harvard, but every year, he never manages to find that spark. He tells people that he doesn't believe in soulmates, that it's a myth meant for Nicholas Sparks novels and crooning love songs to sad thirteen-year-olds, but it doesn't stop him from shaking hands with as many people as he reasonably can. He goes out of his way to greet every client, co-worker, judge, and opposing counsel with a handshake, and sometimes he "accidentally" bumps into strangers on the streets in the hopes that they may be the one. Maybe he's an old romantic, but if his ill-fated relationship with Sheila taught him anything, it's that he can enjoy a non-matched romance in the short-term, but in the long-term, soul compatibility is a must.

[-]

Benjamin's been asexual his entire life, and for some reason, it always made him think that he would never find a soulmate. He's always wanted one, of course, but he also spent a good portion of his adolescence being told by every form of consumable media that he's somehow defective for not desiring sex, and somehow the thought that he could have a soulmate never occurred to him. Broken people like him don't get soulmates. So when he passes cash to the pizza guy and brushes fingers with him, he not prepared for the shock that follows. He drops the pizza he was balancing so precariously and gapes at the delivery guy. The delivery guy gapes back at him before stuttering out his name. Benjamin gets his number, and they both skip work the next day, spending it walking around the city, fingers entwined, both enjoying the buzzing warmth being generated by their close contact. Josh the pizza guy isn't at all perturbed by Benjamin's asexuality. They spend a lot of time cuddling and talking and enjoying being around each other, but not once doesn't Josh try anything remotely sexual. For the first time in his life, Benjamin feels whole.

[-]

Harvey Specter doesn't believe in the power of soulmates. His parents were a soulmatch after all, and their marriage was a trainwreck in the making. When he feels a buzzing shock while he shakes Mike Ross's hand after his job interview, Harvey attributes it to the static electricity in the room. Still, he finds himself addicted to touching Mike. He always manages the manipulate situations in a such a way that he can give Mike a high-five or a handshake or a congratulatory slap on the back. Once, he even ruffles Mike's hair. It's only after Mike leaves Pearson Specter for Sidwell Investment Group that Harvey realizes how addicted he was to Mike's touch.

[-]

Mike is a firm believer in the power of soulmates. After all, his parents were a perfect soulmatch! But somehow, Mike doesn't believe that he'll ever find a soulmate of his own. The day of his job interview with Harvey, he's so distracted by everything that's happened that he doesn't even notice the shock at Harvey's handshake, and he tends to be a bit oblivious about everything else around him. When he finally notices the soulshocks he's getting from Harvey, Mike convinces himself that because Harvey's never shown any signs of reciprocation, he's probably gone and landed himself a one-sided soulmatch – a rare but devastating phenomenon. He throws himself into his relationship with Rachel, determined to make it work – and he really _does_ care deeply about Rachel! It's just that when he and Harvey share the steak dinner while Rachel's in the hospital, Mike realizes that he can't just pretend anymore that he's in love with Rachel… not with Harvey so clearly his soulmate, even with everything that's happened in the battle for Gillis Industries. But without any clear signs from Harvey that he's also experiencing a soulmatch, Mike resolves himself to keeping quiet about Harvey's shocks.

[-]

Amy's getting her PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Soulscience, which basically means that she's an expert on everything to do with soulmates. It's why it frustrates her to no end watching Mike beat himself up over his soulmatch with his asshole ex-boss, and it's why she takes matters into her own hands by calling Donna Paulsen. While Donna convinces Harvey to pull his head out of his ass and recognize his soulmatch with Mike, Amy tells Mike in no uncertain terms that wallowing like a victim when he's been blessed with a soulmate is frankly insulting to everyone who's been looking for a soulmate their entire lives. When Mike blinks stupidly at her, Amy ships him off to Pearson Specter so that he can finally acknowledge his match with Harvey. Later, Mike's ex-girlfriend pops in, and for a moment, Amy is terrified that Rachel is going to be furious with her. Instead, Rachel thanks her profusely and tells her that Mike's happier than Rachel's ever seen him. Spontaneously, Rachel hugs Amy, and the buzzing shock that runs through her body is unlike anything Amy's ever felt before. She and Rachel stare at each other for a long moment, before Amy says, "I'm glad Mike found Harvey, or else I'd have to fight him for you." Rachel laughs and tells Amy that she wouldn't have thought she could trust any potential soulmatch until she felt one for real. There's a story there, Amy can tell, but she doesn't ask, because she and Rachel are going to have the rest of their lives to tell each other their stories. But it's probably the best day of Amy's life, and she doesn't need a concentration in Soulscience to tell her that she's goddamn lucky that Mike Ross is an idiot.


End file.
